A lost sister and a memorial tree: why one woman had to buy her childhood home

When the home she grew up in went to auction, Gemma Dalzotto jumped at the chance to buy, hoping that one special feature was still standing.

Home sweet home: Gemma Dalzotto and her partner Angelo have bought Gemma's childhood home at auction, Photo: Nick Clayton.

There’s a very special tree in the backyard of Gemma Dalzotto’s childhood home and when her parents sold the house eight years ago, Gemma never expected to see the tree or inside the house again.

STILL STANDING: The tree in the backyard of 13 Ellwood Ave, Para Vista. Picture: Nick Clayton.

But childhood memories are strong and when the home returned to market this year, it pulled at Gemma’s heartstrings.

Within one whirlwind week, the tree and the house was hers.

FAMILY TIES: Gemma Dalzotto and her partner Angelo Cavuoto outside the home Gemma grew up in. Picture: Nick Clayton.

“It’s so crazy, the outcome of it all,” says Gemma, who picked up the keys late last month.

“It’s such a rare opportunity I feel, my partner Angelo said ‘what are the chances of being able to buy it again’?

“We quickly spoke to our bank and decided to go for it.

“My parents were there too and it was a super emotional day for all of us. I want it to be like an heirloom now.”

LUCKY NO. 5: Ray White auctioneer John Morris with Gemma after the auction of 13 Ellwood Ave, Para Vista in May. The property settled on June 21. Picture: supplied.

Before she was born, Gemma’s parents, John and Helen, lost their first child Melissa, who was born with no kidneys.

In memory, her parents planted a tree in the backyard next to the swimming pool, which is still there to this day.

MEMORIAL TREE: Gemma Dalzotto in front of the tree her parents planted in memory of her sister who died before she was born. Picture: Nick Clayton.

Gemma says after her parents sold the house, the next owners ripped out the pool which was right next to it, yet the tree wouldn’t budge. “I believe everything happens for a reason,” says Gemma.

LOVING MEMORIES: Christmas at Para Vista. Picture: supplied.

Gemma, now 28, lived at the yellow brick three-bedroom one-bathroom Para Vista home with her parents until she was 18, when they decided to rent it out, before selling it two years later. She has now bought it from the owners whom her family sold it to in 2014.

Given the current hot property market in Adelaide, which shows no signs of easing despite the national trend, and managing to get finance approval in such a short amount of time, it literally proved a miracle.

“We got so lucky, we had a really good mortgage broker. Our broker is amazing,” says Gemma, a brand merchandiser for Mosaic Brands.

Her partner of eight years, Angelo Cavuoto, 29, a FIFO worker and builder by trade, was away working and watched it all unfold remotely.

PERFECT TIMING: Gemma Dalzotto and Angelo Cavuoto are going to use the home as an investment and rent it out. Photo: Nick Clayton.

“We were pre-approved within a week, ‘cos I had just refinanced (our own house) through our mortgage broker a couple of weeks before, so he had (all the documents) everything already. We just had to add Gemma on, had a few forms to fill out … and that’s pretty much why we got the sale. We were the only ones here who were pre-approved at the auction, so other people couldn’t even register a bid,” says Angelo.

SEVENTIES RETRO: The home was built in 1971 and had slate floors, purple carpets and aqua trims in the bathroom and kitchen. Picture: supplied

On auction day, Gemma was the sole bidder, snapping up the home for $460,000 and buying it off the owners her family had sold it to. Accompanied by parents John and Helen, who originally paid $107,000 for the home before she was born, it was an emotional moment for the whole family.

PROPERTY LADDER

Gemma and Angelo are both savvy young homebuyers with practical heads on their shoulders and a zest of flipping properties. The couple who recently renovated their own home, don’t plan to live in Gemma’s childhood home, but will give it a modern update, so they can rent it out to a market starved of rental homes.

RENTAL DEMAND: The house will be rented out to help ease tight rental vacancy rates which are being felt in Adelaide and across the country. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Brenton Edwards

According to Statista, in March this year, Adelaide’s rental vacancy rate was 0.3 per cent, in Sydney 1.6 per cent, Melbourne 1.9 per cent and Brisbane 0.7 per cent. It’s a sensible decision for a couple who are still in their late 20s.

“It’s good for young kids, you’re got lots of space out the front, we know that can be a good entertaining area,” they say with a laugh. Not that Gemma or Angelo plan to sell it, ever – it means too much, with the sentimental couple choosing to be the custodians of the home.

“This will be an investment. We will never live there, that would be weird. I like having it, but I wouldn’t go back there,” says Gemma. With a swimming pool and spa pool in the backyard, she says the house was the centre of life growing up.

AN ENTERTAINER: The pool and backyard were popular with family and friends. Picture: supplied.

“All my friends would always congregate there, everyone always come to our house,” she says. Plus they still know most of the neighbours and her parents’ best friends still live two doors down.

MODERN MAKEOVER

Much of the home still looks the same as when they lived there. The original purple carpet Gemma remembers has long since been pulled up, but there’s remnants of the original aqua paint her mum loved so much, inside the wardrobes, on trims, in the hallway and on back wall of the lounge.

RETRO GREEN: It’s trendy to some but this bathroom is about to be freshened up. Picture: supplied

The retro green bathroom tiles are still there too, which Gemma plans to paint white. There’s no plans to put a pool back though.

“My mum had this aqua vibe going on, but it’s just not doing it for me, maybe 20 years ago, yes, but not now.”

Gemma says it feels nice to be back home. “It’s good, it’s like a good feeling, I don’t know, it’s a different feeling. When we bought our first house, at the time, I was kind of like, you know, we were kind of happy with whatever. And then this came along, it’s just such a different feeling, it’s more sentimental, it means more, and going through settlement it was more exciting, we were waiting for the progress. (Buying a house) before it was, like, cool, but this house has more meaning to it.”

As soon as the keys were in their hands, Angelo started ripping up the slate floor, much to Gemma’s father’s protests.

SLATED FOR REMOVAL: The floors don’t look like this any more but the slate was hard to move. Picture: supplied

“Dad said ‘don’t rip up the slate, the slate’s fine’. I disagreed,” laughs Gemma. “Dad said it was such an in thing back then, but it’s outdated now.

Angelo plans to do all of the work himself, however the slate proved harder than expected. “It was a nightmare, it was not fun at all, especially with no power tools as electricity hasn’t been reconnected to the house yet,” says Angelo. “I used a Makita battery-operated tool, which took a few hours, but it has a mesh underneath that’s holding it all together.”“I thought it would have come up a little bit easier.”

HOME RENOVATORS: Gemma and Angelo are tackling much of the renovations themselves. Picture: Nick Clayton.

After the floor, a wall will come down to make it open plan, the kitchen will be updated and the house painted throughout.

“We’re going to put down floating floors, knock the wall out to make one massive open space, spray all the kitchen cupboards, new handles, take off old slate splashback and floor,” says Gemma.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Gemma Dalzotto cleaning her teeth on the kitchen sink of her Para Vista home that is now back in the family after eight years. Picture: supplied

“We just reno-ed our own house as he’s a builder, I’m just the project manager. “It’ll be very similar to our house, it’s going to be very white and neutral, white, light and bright, that’s what we do.”

“We’ll get it fixed up and have a proper look at the (rental) market,” adds Angelo. “In four to five weeks from now it will be completed.”

Originally published as A lost sister and a memorial tree: why one woman had to buy her childhood home